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Secretary of state, and he became the first jewish Secretary Of State when he was sworn in in 1973. When meeting with israels Prime Minister, golden mayer, Secretary Kissinger said, quote, you must remember that first i am an american, second im Secretary Of State, and third i am a jew. 50 years after the Senate Confirmed Henry Kissinger as the first jewish Secretary Of State, Secretary Of State Anthony Blinken said this today in israel. I come before you, not only as the United States Secretary Of State, but also as a jew. My grandfather, maurice blinken, fled programs in russia. My stepfather, samuel ps are, survive concentration camps, auschwitz, that how, so Prime Minister, i understand, on a personal level, the harrowing echoes that hamass massacres carry for israeli jews, indeed, for jews everywhere. I also come before you as a husband and father of young children. Its impossible for me to look at the photos of families killed such as the mother, father, and three small children murdered as they sheltered in their home in a kibbutz near oz and not think of my own children. This is just one of hamass Countless Acts Of Terror in a litany of brutality and inhumanity that, yes, brings to mind the worst of isis. Babies slaughtered. Bodies desecrated. Young people burned alive, women raped, parents executed in front of their children, children in front of their parents. How do we even understand this, digest this . Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly thank Secretary Blinken. This is a time, a particular time, a special time, that we must stand tall, proud, and united, against evil. Tony, you are taking that stand. America is taking that stand. Isaac herzog is israels president , largely a ceremonial position. He said this. Your visit here is another proof and testimony to how close you are and how you care for us in our time of need. And one of the darkest hours we have under since the establishment of the state of israel. Since i know you personally and i know that your stepfather was a holocaust survivor, originally from and wrote a book which impacted my life tremendously, i know that the whole vision of jews being carried away, old, young, babies, carried too hell, is something that is mindboggling and speaks to the most deep emotions that any person has, and definitely you. Secretary blinken had lengthy meetings with Israeli Government officials today, but he also walked among the people and share their grief. We went through horror. Really. Im just like, im 24. And i never imagined Something Like this would happen ever at a dance and music festival. We celebrated love. And we danced. It was amazing. Then the rockets started and gunshots everywhere. We managed to escape. But there are a lot of friends that didnt. There are a lot of friends that are kept captive now in gaza. And we were saved by a miracle. But there are friends that we love. Thank you for being here. Its really important. And if there is any way to help, First Priority, First Priority are our friends and family that are now in gaza. We are strong here. We are powerful here in this place, now, in tel aviv, and everywhere. [applause] thank you very much. We are thinking of them are doing everything we can to bring them home. Thank you so much for being here. Im so, so sorry you have to go through this. It means a lot. Thank you. I admire your strength. And also, telling your story. The world needs to hear. This thank you. And were going to try to be there for you. Thank you. Thank you for the visit. When you heard that the Aircraft Carriers came, people are standing in the streets, if we want to i was an air force pilot, we know what we can do. We know. But they was so meaningful for people. And then, tony blinken was reminded of how israel can feel like a small town. From . Where from the u. S. I was mike ortons Chief Of Staff. Oh yes, thats right. I just couldnt. I know you are familiar. Couldnt connected. John finer and mike michael warren, both manchin to totally bring them in that moment, about that on this program, john finer is President Bidens Principal Deputy National Adverse advisor, and michael oren was the israeli ambassador to the United States. The woman meeting Secretary Blinken there was ambassadors Chief Of Staff. Secretary blinken had a private meeting the families of americans who have been killed have been taken hostage, or are missing and there are now 27 americans confirmed dead and 14 remain unaccounted for. We feel supported. From the beginning. From the very beginning, until the meeting with Blinken Today. You listened to us from his heart. He hugged each one of us. It didnt stop anyone from speaking. This was not a protocol meeting. This was a meeting of someone who understands what jews have suffered for thousands of years, and wants to make sure that this never ever happens again. Before leaving israel today for meetings with other governments in the region, beginning with jordan, Secretary Blinken said this. Its hard to find the right words. Its beyond what anyone would ever want to imagine, much less actually see, and god forbid, experience. A baby, an infant, riddled with bullets. Soldiers beheaded. Young people burned alive in their cars, or their highway rooms. I could go on. But it simply it is depravity in the worst imaginable way. It almost defies comprehension. Joining us now from tel aviv s roger cohen of the New York Times. Roger, thank you very much for joining us tonight. I have been eager to talk to you since the first colony wrote about this, which you titled, a shaken israel is forced back to its eternal dilemma. Here we are at the end of day six of this war. What are your reflections now, six days in . Well, lawrence, thank you for having me on the show. Ive now been in israel for four days. I got here just after i wrote that column. As the scenes we have just witnessed demonstrate, this isnt israel gripped by a terrible grief, as well as a great anger against hamas, for these acts of keenest inequity that have gradually been clear to us. I, also, and into, i also carry within the somewhere the mark of millennia of persecution. And to witness this slaughter, i was at the site of the rave party the other day. A place where kids were dancing, speaking of peace and love, and then hamas arrived and started turning the whole place into a slaughterhouse, a killing field. Israel is in shock. Israel is resolved to remove hamas from gaza by whatever means necessary. Israel is questioning how this was possible and its a moment of dismay combined with result. You wrote in your piece, the site of villages once again overrun, hostages seized, and desperate civilians being killed by palestinian militants, has awakened a kind of primal dread. Roger, i know that dred is always there and for it to be awakened, it doesnt take much. Yes, lawrence. I think a lot of jews about embraced zionism reluctantly. They decided that they needed a homeland. Why . Because it had been demonstrated to them that, ultimately, acceptance in any number of european states and states around the world was always something fragile. And something that could lead, as it did, in the 20th century, to the holocaust. It was after that, in 1947, with the u. N. Resolution establishing the state of israel, that jews achieved the goal of a homeland where they thought they could make themselves safe. And they believed that at some point, some kind of twostate peace would be possible with the palestinians. This, alas, ive written volumes about this over the years, has not approved possible. And this primal dread is linked to the idea that even here, jews are vulnerable to attack from an organization who is kevin says its aim is to destroy the state of israel and to slaughter jews. This is no different, a conviction, belief, or dogma that is no different from that which led to the gas chambers. And that is the source of the primal dread. You are in tel aviv, a city which on most days is as vibrant a commercial city and of each city as exists in the world. Most of the days you could spend their thinking you were in any other vibrant commercial city that is never threatened. You write in the piece, its wealth, vibrant startup culture, and increasing acceptance in the middle east could not forever mask a fundamental israeli instability. It is for people who know what theyre actually seeing when theyre in tel aviv, something of a mirage, that it is so vibrant and stable and energetic and booming on the good days. The bad days are always possible. Thats right. There is a fundamental instability, and no peace with bahrain or morocco or other arab states and that is certainly been a very good thing, israels gradual acceptance in the erroll world. It can mask the fact that the fundamental conflict is between israelis and palestinians. And they are fighting over the same sliver of land between the Mediterranean Sea and the jordan river. And the conflict is always there beneath the surface, and may always erupt, especially because the conditions of the more than 2 million palestinians in gaza and of the more than 2 million palestinians in the west bank are very dire, very dire in gaza. And conditions of frequent humiliation almost constant oppression in the west bank. And this gives rise to an anger that can erupt at any moment. And that is what we have seen now. Gaza is really a terrible place. Ive been there frequently, but a lot of the responsibility for that lies with hamas and what there was a brief moment when israel withdrew from gaza, withdrew its settlements. And there were terrible scenes in 2005. There was a brief moment when it seemed that things might get better there. But in fact, once hamas took control, once the Israeli Blockade was established, this place has just incubated rage for a long time. I was talking to one israeli who had escaped from the rave festival, the rave party, and he said to me, i tried to distinguish between hamas, the terrorist organization, and palestinians. More than 20 of the population in israel it is palestinian, israeli arabs. And i think about the people who did this, the people who came and slaughtered defenseless civilians on a massive scale, i think to myself, these are people, these must be people who have given up hope for their own lives. They cant believe there is anything in their life that gives them hope to embark on such a rampage and slaughter. There are a lot of thoughtful israelis who are thinking about the broader question, who are trying to distinguish between hamas and the palestinian people, between women and children now being killed through the israeli retaliation, entirely justified retaliation in gaza. And hamas itself. But in the place where everyone is packed so closely together, how you avoid the kinds of war crimes that President Biden urged israel to do its best to try to avoid, to try to adhere to the rules of war. It is very, very difficult not to say near impossible. Roger cohen, thank you very much for your invaluable experience, perspective on all this. Thank you very much for joining us tonight. Thank you very much, lawrence. Thank you. Coming up, the leading republican candidate for president finally spoke out about the attack on israel by criticizing the Israeli Government and praising israels enemies. Thats next with ben rhodes. Theres something going around the gordon home. Good thing gertrude found delsym. Now whats going around is 12hour cough relief. And the giggles. The family that takes delsym together, feels better together. I was stuck. Unresolved Depression Symptoms were in my way. I needed more from my antidepressant. Vraylar helped give it a lift. Adding vraylar to an antidepressant. Is clinically proven to help relieve overall Depression Symptoms. Better than an antidepressant alone. And in vraylar clinical studies, most saw no substantial impact on weight. Elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. Report unusual changes in behavior or suicidal thoughts. 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Reflecting on the unspeakable horrors that he endured in the not the concentration camps, he wrote, man, they created in your image, and endowed with the freedom to choose between good and evil, remains capable of the worst as of the best, of hatred has of love, of madness as of genius. In this moment, where evil, hatred, and madness have once more taken so many innocent lives, we must stand together, resolved to confront what is worst among humanity with what is best. We must provide an alternative to the vision of violence and fear, nihilism and tara presented by hamas. That is what the United States will do. Joining us now from tel aviv, staff writer for the New York Times magazine, he is the author of rise and kill first, i secret history of israels targeted assassinations. Ronan, what has the Israeli Military said publicly about their plans . Going through the front the last few days, you dont need the military to say, you can just see. Its the biggest Military Buildup in the history of the country. 360,000 troops recruited, 40 mobilized to both borders to the south to fight hamas and to the north, fearing another front with hezbollah. In the south. The declarations from israeli officials, military and political leaders, are using vocabulary and tone and volume that never used before. The military chief, Lieutenant General after taking responsibility for what happened, he said we did not supply citizens of israel the safety and security they deserve, and we should have supplied. We failed, he said. But after that, he said, we are going to disassemble he identified the leader of hamas and gaza as the initiator of this horrific crime. So we are going to disassemble all of the infrastructure we are going to destroy all of them. These words and his tone and the trauma that the patient here is going through, i think leaving very little doubt that people say, in this case, at least, say what they tend to do. But it is the tanks, the bulldozers, the soldiers at the border, who understand that a ground invasion, something that the israelis try to stray away from, in spite of numerous exchanges of hostilities like a round and round again, they try to avoid, but this time, it all changed. It bothered is real, it concerned israel previous times. The International Prestige of israel being outcast because of the toll in civilian life, or the toll in lives of soldiers, which is a very sensitive issue. And out top of that now, there are Something Like 150 hostages. The issue of p. O. W. s in israel is very important. But what happened is, according to the israeli mindset, is more important than all of those together, and this time i believe it will lead to the step no other israeli Prime Minister has done, which is a full invasion into gaza. Ronan bergman, thank you so much for your reporting tonight. And joining our discussion now is ben rhodes, msnbc political analyst. And then lets listen to what the leading republican president ial candidate, joe bidens chief critic, had to say about this last night. Ill never forget that Bibi Netanyahu let us down. That was a very terrible thing, i will say that. So when i see sometimes the intelligence, you talk about the intelligence. You talk about some of the things that went wrong over the last week. Theyve got to straighten it out, because theyre fighting potentially a very big force. Theyre fighting potentially iran. Two nights ago i read all of bidens security people, can you imagine, National Defense people. And they said gee, i hope hezbollah doesnt attack from the north. Because thats the most vulnerable spot. I said, wait a minute, hezbollah is very smart. Theyre all very smart. Ben rhodes, hezbollah is very smart, thats the republican candidates position. I mean, look, lawrence, [inaudible] worst circumstances imaginable is he has no response to whats actually happening. Its just about him. Hes referencing some past disagreement he had with netanyahu. Hes trying to, i guess, show off by talking about hezbollah been smart. These are terrorists with thousands of rockets pointed at israel. Whats truly scary to consider, though, is that he wants to be president again. And, having someone with that absence of any depth of feeling or knowledge for strategy for how you would deal with a war that risks escalating in the middle